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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2016)
Polk County News 2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 16, 2016 Monmouth will have Dallas votes in three new councilors three new councilors Two incumbents among those who grab the five open seats in the race By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — The city of Monmouth has a new mayor, Steve Milligan, who ran unopposed and earned 2,697 votes (94 percent). Monmouth’s City Council has one incumbent re-elect- ed, Darin Silbernagel with 1,318 votes (14 percent). Silber- nagel said he was honored to Silbernagel be re-elect- ed. “I don’t know what the next issue will be,” Silber- nagel said. “I want to put our best foot forward. I have no real agenda except to make it the best place it can be for the city of Monmouth and WOU (Western Oregon Uni- versity).” Among newcomers to the council, Laurel Sharmer (1,328, 14 percent), Byron Shinkle (1,168, 12 percent) and Thomas Steinke (1,055, 11 percent) have been elect- ed, according to unofficial election results. With three new coun- cilors, Silbernagel said he hopes the new group will meld together well. “We’ve had a really stable council,” he said. “Time will tell. Hopefully things will go consistently well going for- ward.” Steve Deptula (1,046, 11 percent), Mark Lane (1,002, 10 percent), Rich Graham (798, 8 percent) and George Jeffery (773, 8 percent) were the other candidates in the race. 5 $ SUPER TUESDAY at Independence Cinema ALL MOVIES ANY AGE Friday - Tuesday • November 18 - 22 HACKSAW RIDGE (Digital) (R) (1:00 3:55) 6:50 9:45 DOCTOR STRANGE (Digital) (PG13) (1:35 4:20) 7:15 9:50 TROLLS (Digital) (PG) (12:25 2:40 4:55) 7:10 9:25 FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (Digital) (PG13) (12:30 1:00 3:30 4:00) 6:30 7:00 9:30 10:00 EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (Digital) (R) (11:50 2:20 4:50) 7:20 9:55 SHUT IN (Digital) (PG13) (1:45) 9:35 JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (Digital) (PG13) (4:00) 6:45 THE ARRIVAL (Digital) (PG13) (1:45 4:25) 7:05 9:50 By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — After the Nov. 8 election, the Dallas City Council will welcome three new councilors and say goodbye to one who has served more than t h r e e decades. Incum- bents Ken Woods Jr. and Kelly Gabliks Wilson won re- election with 3,660 and 3,301 votes, respectively, in unofficial final election results. A third incumbent, L a Vo n n e W i l s o n , j u s t missed taking the fifth and last open seat by 37 votes. At the end of her term, she will have served 32 years on the council. “It’s been an honor and privilege to have served as long as I did,” Wilson said. She said she had the good fortune of working with excellent city person- nel and city managers over the decades. “I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished over the years,” she said. Wilson said, if the oppor- GOVERNMENT tunity arises — s a y, a n opening on the c i t y ’s budget commit- tee — she Trahan will stay involved in city government, but be- lieves her colleagues on the council and the new coun- cilors coming in will do well for the city. “They want to step up to the plate and help,” she said. “That’s important.” Paul Trahan, one of the trio of new councilors, also expressed disappointment that Wilson’s tenure is end- ing. He earned the third highest vote tally at 3,382. “She’s done a wonderful job in the past, and I’m sure she will stay involved,” he said. Trahan said he’s grateful for the opportunity to serve and wants to help the city with economic develop- ment in filling retail spaces on Main Street and bring in another “big box” retail chain to town. He also would like to see some activity on the former Weyerhaeuser mill site in Dallas. “I look forward to work- ing with the council and city staff,” Trahan said. Terry Crawford took sec- ond in the voting w i t h 3,423. He be- lieves bal- ancing the city’s budget will be a Crawford big task for the council in the com- ing year. He said police, streets and critical infra- structure — water and sewer — should be the first priorities, but he thinks there are ways to include recreation in the budget, too. “I think there are ways way can increase revenue, increase some attendance at the Dallas Aquatic Cen- ter,” Crawford said. “I don’t think there’s anybody that thinks it needs to be closed. It’s quite an attraction,” Crawford said he will re- view the city’s budget and attend a workshop at the Mark Hatfield School of Government to get ready for taking his seat on the council. L i k e Tr a h a n , Jennie Rummell, another n e w councilor, said eco- nomic de- Rummell velop- ment would be her priority. “I love hearing ideas on what people would like to see in town, and there are a lot of ideas,” Rummell said. “I really feel, as a communi- ty, we need to find a niche.” She said highlighting the town’s history could be one such niche. Rummell, who received 3,292 votes, said she wants to help make “the community connected and engaged so there is even more home- town pride.” “I am really excited for the opportunity to serve in Dallas, and hope that peo- ple feel comfortable coming to me with concerns,” Rum- mell said. Indy council to see three new faces By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Rich King, Ken Day and Kathy Martin-Willis will join the Independence City Council in January, along with Mayor John McArdle, who was re-elected and ran un- opposed. The three councilors will replace Forrest Peck (Posi- tion 3), Jerry Hoffman (Posi- tion 5) and Nancy Lodge (Position 6). No incumbents ran for council. Day, Po- sition 5, ran against c h a l - lengers Michael Hicks and Day George Ne u j a h r. He won the vote with 53 percent, or 1,207 votes, to Hicks 760 votes and Neu- jahr’s 256. He said he is looking for- ward to learning how the council works and being able to help move the city forward as a “destination lo- cation.” “I’m re- ally inter- ested in how we spend our money, and want to learn m o r e Martin-Willis about the budgeting process and where the funds come from and where they go,” Day said. A member of the Mon- mouth Independence Net- works finance committee, Day said he hopes to be ap- pointed to the Minet board of directors. “I’d like to continue to 29th Annual FREE COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING DINNER Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church 320 SE Fir Villa Rd • Dallas, Oregon Dinner served beginning at 5:30 pm Community worship at 7:00 pm Everyone is Welcome Free meal delivery is available to Dallas residents within city limits/with disabilities. Please arrange delivery by calling the church office by Tuesday, November 22. 503-623-2233 work for Minet,” he said. “I t h i n k t h e y ’r e a great com- pany. The service they pro- King vide is real- ly good, and it’s going to be more and more needed in the coming years. I think it made a difference — how big a difference, I don’t know — in the development at Independence Landing.” Day said he is excited to get to work. “I think it’s going to be in- teresting with a combina- tion of new people and peo- ple who have already been there,” Day said. “I’m look- ing forward to it. It’s gonna be a challenge, and we’ll make good decisions — not to say people before made bad decisions.” Martin-Willis (Position 6) will take Lodge’s seat. Lodge decided not to run again after serving 16 years on the council. “We have wonderful op- portunities before us, pri- marily, the Independence Landing project,” Martin- Willis said. “Recently, we’ve taken next steps with the de- veloper, and we’re looking forward to the infrastructure laid moving ahead.” A Pleasant Place to Buy or Sell Your RV CALL TODAY FOR A NO-CHARGE EVALUATION. OPEN WEEK! 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